Electoral authorities have set up about 52,000 booths, out of which about 10,000 have been identified as hypersensitive and over 14,000 as sensitive. As many as 65,000 electronic voting machines, which include about 10 per cent kept as reserve, are being used in the elections for which more than 2.5 lakh polling officers are on duty.

In the 2008 elections, BJP secured 110 seats, three short of majority and formed the government with the help of five independents who were made ministers. Congress bagged 80 seats and JD-S 28. The overall voter turnout then was 64.91 per cent.

The Election Commission and a number of NGOs have joined hands for vigorous campaigns to boost the voter turnout, particularly in Bangalore, the state capital.